"Dave Liquorice" writes:

On Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:26:42 +0000, Roger Mills wrote:

The important characteristic is how much current it can switch. 3200
watts is 13 amps - but some devices have much higher startup currents
than this - which are not sustained for long enough to blow the fuse but
which could nevertheless wreck the contacts in a time switch. Maybe
washing machines come in the category?

I sort of thought that but all the washing machines I've ever
encounterd don't start the motor the moment you switch 'em on or the
heater come to that. They need to, at least partially, fill with
water first... Thus the time switch won't be required to make/break a
high load. Well not unless you are daft enough to set it such that it
switches off before the cycle has finished...

It would be daft, but you might do it unthinkingly while obsessing about
the letter from the bank, or whatever!

And the solenoids which control filling etc. are inductive.

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